While enjoying our weekend away at Rockwater Secret Cove Resort, we were as much looking forward to our dining experiences as we were to the time spent relaxing in our tenthouse suite. Let’s face it, we spend a lot of time eating at White Spot as parents. We don’t often go out for dinner dates, so this was a real treat for us.
Wild mushroom & mascarpone ravioli with duck confit / Seafood chowder / Braised lamb shank / French toast with side of sausage
Though the menu at the Rockwater Secret Cove Resort restaurant is small, it offers the gourmet many choices for a wonderful experience. We took our time with both dinners, enjoying our way through 2 or 3 courses and most of the menu over our 2 night stay. I was most impressed by the seafood chowder, which was both generous with seafood as it was with flavour – love the addition of more vegetables. The ravioli was likewise melt-in-your-mouth amazing. I wish they had a second pasta on the menu, this one was so good.
All of our meals were cooked to perfection, even if I did have to order my steak well done (darn pregnancy!). The asparagus, so often overcooked, was the perfect crispness. The food all had a lot of flavour and came in quite decent portions. The chocolate torte we enjoyed for dessert was definitely both large and rich – I’m glad we decided to share dessert.
Our breakfasts were both great. Though the breakfast menu does not appear online, it offers a variety from the general variety plate to eggs benedicts to french toast. We’re quite grateful that breakfast was served until 11am – and that room service was available. I do quite admire the server who carried our breakfast, in the rain, all along the long path to our tenthouse – it arrived warm and delicious.
My most stellar recommendation for our dining experience was the staff – by far the best service I’ve had at a restaurant in many many months. Our servers were all very observant and attentive but without being overbearing. As with the rest of the staff at Rockwater, they talked with us about our stay and took a genuine interest in us. It was lovely.
Most of the other restaurants we looked into on the Sunshine Coast seemed to offer either a too-broad menu or just general dining options. Even if you don’t stay at the Rockwater Secret Cove Resort, we think you’ll find it your best dining experience in the area. There’s a reason we only ate one lunch off property in our 2 night stay!
Check out all our photos from our dining experiences and our stay here.
Disclosure: our first dinner at Rockwater was complimentary. We paid for our subsequent dinner the next night.
Last weekend, we took a toddler-free trip to the Sunshine Coast to stay at the Rockwater Secret Cove Resort. This was our first time taking two nights (three days) away from Aiden; in the past we’ve spent one night in Vancouver and one night in Whistler. We had been to Rockwater once before, several years before we had Aiden, and had fond memories of how peaceful and relaxing it was.
It took us about 3 hours from our house to reach the resort, including ferry wait and crossing, which is quite reasonable for a Vancouver getaway. You need to drive about 45 minutes from the ferry terminal to the resort, located near Halfmoon Bay. The resort offers access to many outdoor activities as well as the on-site spa services. Our goal in going to Rockwater was to relax completely – we didn’t want to play tourists this trip, we just wanted to relax. And that we did!
Our tenthouse suite
We stayed in one of the luxurious tenthouse suites. Far from what you’d imagine of anything that has the word ‘tent’ in it, the tenthouse suites offer all the high-end luxuries of resort hotels (king bed, soaker tub, fireplace, heated floors) and then some (check out this view). You won’t find such privacy or stunning views at any other hotel!
My views, though, mostly consisted of this:
I spent a rather embarrassing amount of time in that tub – and I read 2 books over the course of 3 days, so that should tell you a little something about just how chilled out we were during our stay. It was fantastic to rest my pregnant self in the tub or nestled in a pile of pillows on the bed next to the fire. So nice!
The view from our tenthouse balcony
Each tenthouse offers its own breathtaking vista of Secret Cove. Whether you’re enjoying the view from your bed or your deck, it’s easy to forget there are other tenthouses near you. Our first night we had a major wind storm, which did disturb our rest a little bit – quite noisy, as you can imagine, from within a tent. Our next night was perfectly restful (though I am apparently incapable of sleeping in anymore).
Ianiv spent some time when it wasn’t raining to enjoy the deck (I was in the bath, of course) and take some photos. At night, he spent some time stargazing as well – it was breathtaking! It’s easy to forget how much of the night sky we miss seeing when we live in the city – I only wish we could have taken a photo of that to share with you!
We ordered room service one morning from our tenthouse and took our other breakfast, and both dinners, in the Rockwater restaurant. Review forthcoming.
Check out all our photos from our stay here.
Disclosure: we were given a discount for our stay at Rockwater, though our choice to stay here and our review were not swayed by this.
This Fall, Disney opened up a new Resort in Oahu called Aulani. I am a big Disney fan, so we made a point of going to see it, stopping for dinner after our day out visiting the sights of the Island. Aside from how gorgeous the property is, my first impression was definitely: “Where’s the Disney touch?” Aside from the gift shop, the resort was almost Disney-free. Apparently the resort was meant to celebrate Hawaii, though as a guest I think I may have missed the Disney touches.Although Mickey Mouse came out to say hi at one point, only hotel guests are allowed to take a picture with him. Big sad on that one.
We walked the property checking out the fun tube route and waterside, the wading pool and the infinity hot tub looking out over the manicured beaches. All very impressive. I know from the website, the on-site activities are impressive, so I think that part of the resort would be fun to experience. As a plus, the resort does cater to younger kids with their kids club.
The resort is quite far away from Honolulu and Waikiki, so most of your meals would probably have to be on property, as a guest. There are 4 restaurants and 2 bars – and all are very expensive. As a guest, you could expect your stay to be very expensive based on food alone.
We dined at the Makahiki buffet restaurant, which was a pricey $43 per person. Despite the hefty price tag, the food was very impressive. The assortment was large, as each section of the buffet was kept small and refreshed often. From fresh seafood and sushi to many hot meal items including some traditional Hawaiian dishes, we definitely made the most of our meal. The desserts were particularly impressive, including the mini lava cakes. Yum. There was also a kids buffet, featuring food that kids may eat more of such as pizza and macaroni.
If you’re very hungry and willing to make the drive, the meal is worth it – thankfully, if you eat on property, at least the parking is free!
I think a stay at Aulani would be amazing, but only if you go expecting to pretty much stay on property or if you rent a car. I think having to dine on property at the Disney prices is crazy, but perhaps it would be worth it for all the amenities the resort offers. What do you think?
Mid-way into our Hawaii stay, we walked down the road from our hotel to the Outrigger Reef on the Beach, another great hotel a little closer to central Waikiki. There we dined at the Kani Ka Pila Grille, the poolside dining option at the hotel. It was one of our best meals in Hawaii.
Kani Ka Pila Grille was recently rethought by Outrigger to feature more authentically Hawaiian entertainment, and I do have to say it was the best we heard in Hawaii. A lot less touristy and more subtle – just fantastic.
Aiden had his own gigantic burger from the kids menu, while we shared a crab cake for appetizer followed by some great meals. I had a seafood pasta while Ianiv had veal – both were amazing. Really well done (prawns were not overdone!) and well presented. The bread pudding dessert is what made the meal though – wow. Go there just for that.
Disclosure: Our meals were compliments of the Outrigger Reef, whose Director of PR invited us out even after we chose a different hotel for our stay.
We ate both a brunch and a dinner at the Tropics Bar & Grill at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. This was my favourite restaurant on property and one I wish we’d gone to instead of some of the other choices we went to. The restaurant is right on the beach with both indoor and outdoor dining. The restaurant was even featured on the series Hawaii Five-0 where they were served a Blue Hawaii cocktail.
Although we didn’t get Aiden his own kids meal, we still were given a kids package each time we sat down, containing a colouring book and stickers. Great idea on the stickers.
Ianiv & I dined at this restaurant twice, though our mothers also took Aiden there on their own one night. On that night, they had very poor service from their waiter, but on our two subsequent visits together, the service was stellar. The meal was great both at breakfast and dinner – the burger even comes with a cute mayo bottle. I’m all about the cute. Plus, the burger was the best I had on the island (some places served it too raw for my taste).
The restaurant plays live music every evening with a beautiful view of the sunset. Worth a visit!
